Fellowship For Performing Arts Announces 6 Finalists For The Inaugural Clive Awards Playwriting Competition

Six finalists from among hundreds of submissions have been chosen for Fellowship for Performing Art's (FPA) inaugural Clive Awards playwriting competition.

By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 21, 2023

Six finalists from among hundreds of submissions have been chosen for Fellowship for Performing Art's (FPA) inaugural Clive Awards playwriting competition. FPA – producers of stage versions of The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce and C.S. Lewis On Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert – established the awards to encourage a new generation toward excellence in playwrighting from a Christian worldview.

Named in honor of Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, submissions for the competition were accepted from Jan. 31, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2023. From the hundreds of submissions, the field of six finalists was selected, and a $25,000 first prize winner and a $15,000 second prize winner will be chosen and announced in January 2024. Both plays also will receive a developmental reading and, possibly, more. For more information, visit CliveAwards.com.

“The quality of submissions was beyond our expectations,” said FPA Founder and Artistic Director Max McLean. “Despite rumors to the contrary, these intense, provocative scripts reveal that within the creative theatre community, the tenets of the Christian faith are being lived, argued over, tested and defended vigorously. These plays were exciting to read!”

The finalists, listed alphabetically by last name and the title of their play, include:

THE PLAYWRIGHT	THE PLAY	ABOUT THE PLAY	ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Joe Borini New York, NY	TIGER TAKEOUT	A young delivery man, trapped in an elevator, has a life-changing theological encounter with a tiger. This clever, wonderfully written script instantly reminds the audience of a modern-day Aslan.	Joe Borini’s comedy Homecoming was published in Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope All-Story. His play Misdirected was an O’Neill finalist and has been widely produced. Borini holds an MFA in playwrighting from The New School.
Jonathan Hogue New York, NY	THE NATIONS	Six young, easy to recognize American Christians on a mission in a village on the other side of the world come face to face with their real motives. Are they serving God - or themselves?	Jonathan Hogue wrote the book for Stranger Sings! The Musical Parody, winner of the 2021 Broadway World Off-Broadway Award for Best New Musical. He is currently completing his MFA in Playwrighting from Columbia.
Amy Pan and Danielle Cummings New York, NY	PERPETUAL FELICITY	The true story of two 2nd century martyrs, a noblewoman and a slave, who forged a powerful bond and witness to their Roman captors.	Amy Pan and Danielle Cummings are co-writers of Motherland, which won awards at the National Women’s Theatre Festival and Astoria Film Festival and was featured at the Houston AAPI festival.
Rich Rubin Portland, OR	BOOK OF REVELATION	Two life-changing miracles and an unexpected friendship with a devout Christian alter a well-known anthropologist’s perception of the mystery and reality of God in modern times.	Rich Rubin’s works include Picasso in Paris, winner of the Julie Harris Playwright Award, and Kafka’s Joke, a Woodward International Playwriting Prize finalist. His plays have been staged internationally and have won multiple awards.
Nancy Shank Lincoln, NE	THIS MORTAL LIFE ALSO	The inspiring, true story of German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s agonizing life-or-death decision to go from passive resistance to active engagement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.	Nancy Shank holds a PhD in Philosophy, Human Sciences and an MBA. She spent 30 years in academia and has published numerous scholarly articles. This Mortal Life Also is her first play.
Mike Solomonson Snowflake, AZ	BIG PEARLS AND SMALL HIPS	The brilliant and breezy heir to the Time-Life Magazine empire, Clare Boothe Luce, confronts the powerful Bishop Fulton Sheen in a clash of huge personalities as they wrestle with the claims of Christ in their lives. Based on real events from the 1940s.	Mike Solomonson’s play The Goodbye Levee won a NewWorks@TheWorks award and was a finalist at the O’Neill, Ashland New Plays, ScreenCraft among others. His work can be found in The Best 10-Minute Plays of 2021 and 2022.

“In an inaugural competition drawing new plays from across the world, it was difficult to know what to expect,” said FPA Literary Manager Christa Scott-Reed, who is managing The Clive Awards. “But both the quality and quantity of the scripts we received were inspiring and exciting. Congratulations to all who submitted and, of course, to our finalists.”

About Fellowship for Performing Arts FPAtheatre.com

Founded by Artistic Director Max McLean, Fellowship for Performing Arts is a New York City-based production company whose mission is to produce theatre and film from a Christian worldview. In addition to annual seasons at Theatre Row in New York City, it produces national tours of major performing arts venues and university theatres. McLean is a recipient of the C.S. Lewis Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement and received an Equity Jeff Award, Chicago theatre's highest honor.

Among its many recent New York and national touring production are The Screwtape Letters (just completing its fifth national tour in December 2023), The Great Divorce, The Most Reluctant Convert, Martin Luther on Trial, Paradise Lost, Shadowlands and A Man For All Seasons. A film version of The Most Reluctant Convert premiered in North America and in the U.K. in November 2021 and has since been seen worldwide in over 130 countries.

FPA is currently on tour with its newest play, C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up & Further In. For more information visit www.FPAtheatre.com.

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